Next Shinobi
by Bhutea
Summary: Mirai finally becomes a genin, ready to prove to the world the legacy of the Sarutobi name. But, with a unexpected start, she wonders if she could actually do it. (ShikaTema focus)
1. Bad Start for a Genin

**_Bad Start for a Genin_**

This was the day she waited for all her life. Mirai was finally going to be on a genin team. Her body wanted to run wild through the class room, but the fact that her Sensei was standing in front of the class with a serious look, let her know that that's how she suppose to act.

 _'Remember Mirai, you're a genin now. No more Shikamaru-niichan, It's Shikamaru Sensei.'_

Mirai did her best to hold her composure as the names were called. As every name was called she became more anxious; she didn't know who was going to be on her team.

And the fact that Shino was reading the names, slowly in his brooding voice wasn't calming down her nerves, it was doing the opposite.

 _'If he doesn't read those names any faster, I'm going to take the clipboard and read the names off myself.'_

Her crimson eyes looked up at the ceiling in agony as if he was purposely going this slow to make the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.

"Mirai, why are you so jittery." Mirai's best friend since childbirth, Kako looked towards her with a eyebrow raised and a questioning look.

Kako had long flowing dark grey hair, with perfectly matching colored eyes, and skin the color of coffee. And the two of them talked since little girls how they'll be on the same team fighting together. Mirai's wind style mixed with the girls sound jutsu made for a perfect combination.

"Well the Hokage's standing in front, and we're two seconds from finding out our teammates. Things that make people really antsy."

As the two girls were talking, another team had been formed, and that left four boys and two girls left remaining.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be put together. We always have been." Kako winked at her with a reassuring smile, making Mirai feel less anxious.

"Team 14 which would be led by Inuzuka Kiba will include Onishi Ki, Sugimoto Arashi and Hareni Kako."

The two girls looked at each other in shock, before the sadness filled their body, and Kako left to stand by her Sensei, her eyes not leaving Mirai's. Both of them felt tears running forming, their dream completely ruined. But they remembered they were Shinobi, and couldn't cry over something so small.

 _'So much for that dream'_ She quickly looked at the last two boys standing, and instantly she hoped there had been a mistake somewhere.

"Team 10 which would be led by Nara Shikamaru Fujiwara Kaori, Noguchi Kanjiru and Sarutobi Mirai."

Not only did she get separated from her best friend, but got stuck with the loud mouth in the class and the quiet kid that never talks. This felt like a dream and she only wanted to be woken up. Two people she barely talked to, was now suppose to come people she trust.

Mirai walked over to Shikamaru and studied her teammates. 'Ughh' She thought she said this low so that only she could engage in her own frustration, but it wasn't the case.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru whispered to her, quickly before Naruto made his speech that he gave all the new genin.

"It's nothing." She reassured him before looking at the Hokage.

"You are all genin now. You wear your headband with pride for your village and to show that you've begun your journey as Shinobi. This journey will be long, that's why you have comrades to take this along with you. Eventually in time you will learn the true meaning of being a Shinobi and it starts with the three of you acting as a team."

Naruto's face was serious, but Mirai couldn't see how these two guys that she had nothing in common with could help her. So instead of cheering like everyone else, she couldn't help but sit there with despondency on her face.

 _'Are those two really suppose to help me.'_

 **oooooooooo**

 **I'm not really sure where this story is going to go but I had the idea for a while. So let me know what you guys think.**


	2. Fail

Mirai sat on the swing still questioning her placement on this team, as Kaori, the quiet kid sat next to her and arrogant Kanjiru rested on the pole that was part of the swing set.

"Ten minutes? more like thirty, where is this guy already." Kanjiru complained. Shikamaru had told them to wait at the park while he and Naruto handled some business concerning the new genin. Mirai was hoping it was a change of teams, but her dreams were crushed when her Sensei appeared,

"This guy is your Sensei" Shikamaru had snuck up behind him, hearing his complaining from a mile away. "And if you have a problem with my methods you can head back to the academy. So what's it going to be?"

"I'm willing to learn Shikamaru Sensei" Kanjiru was terrified. He known that Shikamaru was the Hokage's right hand man so obviously he had to be tough. And on day one he didn't want to start off on the wrong foot, so he quickly sat down on the bench that his Sensei was standing in front of. Shikamaru instructed the other two to sit there as well.

"As you all know already, I'm Nara Shikamaru. And I'm here to ensure that you become the best ninja possible. So we'll introduce ourselves, starting with loud mouth."

"Noguchi Kanjiru-" The boy had dark brown hair with bright orange eyes. He was the tallest of the three and wore his head band around his forehead head.

"I just want your name."

"What about my abilities."

"Don't need them... introduce yourself." He pointed at the girl who he was already familiar with.

"I'm Sarutobi Mirai." The red eyed girl with greyish-black hair said in a soft voice which was so unlike her. Shikamaru known her to be excited and hyper in any situation. He could blame it on her getting older, but he knew that wasn't the case. But for right now, he let it go and asked the last kid to introduce himself.

"Fujiwara Kaori" Shikamaru noticed how timid he was. The bronze skinned boy wore his red hair long and decided to wrap his Konoha band around his wrist. He was looking down the whole time, avoiding contact with the rest of team members.

"So now that we know each other, I expect you respect one another. Like the Hokage said, you will need trust. Because if you don't have that, things can go wrong and I hate to say it, but it can cause you to loose your life. So while we're a team I only ask for two things trust and respect."

The three of them looked at each other and nodded heavily. And they witnessed the first smile on Shikamaru's face.

"So now that that's taken care of, let's go"

Shikamaru began walking through Konoha and the kids followed behind him until they reached the training grounds which were empty.

He stood on top of a post that had a kunai target attached, looking down at his students yawning in the process.

"So I placed a flag about ten feet in front of you, the only thing you have to do is get it and training will be done for today."

"That's it?" Kanjiru scoffed "Look how close it is. I can easily do this with my eyes closed."

"If you say so, but get the flag"

Mirai wanted nothing more than to impress her Sensei so she sprinted as fast as she could, making sure Kanjiru didn't pass her up, but they were neck and neck. Until they suddenly couldn't move anymore.

"What the hell" Kanjiru yelled. Mirai was very familiar with this jutsu, the shadow paralysis jutsu.

"I would think that checking your surroundings would be common sense."

"Obviously not if the three of us got caught"

"The three of you didn't get caught."

Kanjiru and Mirai watched in front of them as Kaori held the flag. He wasn't smiling or slightly happy that the flag was in his hand. In fact Mirai noticed from the first time she met him that he always seemed melancholy. She could only think of one time he smiled in the past. 'I wonder what he's going through'

"Well why didn't you catch him with this...what type of jutsu is this anyway?"

"It's shadow paralysis jutsu from the Nara clan, and the reason why I didn't catch him was because he checked his surroundings. He didn't just start running off, instead he seen my shadow coming and avoided it."

Shikamaru released the two, and had a look of disappointment on his face.

"You guys were suppose to trust each other, but choose to use this as a competition. You guys are dismissed. I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

The two guys hurried up and went about their day, but Mirai couldn't just leave knowing that Shikamaru was upset with her.

"Shika-" She tried to get out his name, but he cut her off.

"I know you're upset that you and Kako aren't on the same team, but I swore that I was going to be your Sensei, so I picked people who I felt would make a good team. Right now they may seem like strangers, but trust me you'll become like siblings. But that has to start with you, So tomorrow I expect better Mirai. Understand?"

"Yes Shika-niichan- I mean Shikamaru Sensei."

"The first one is still fine"

Shikamaru watched how she giggled then ran off to her house. He knew by her demeanor that she understood what he had to say, but only tomorrow would he witness the outcome.


	3. Cemetery

Although Shikamaru talked to Mirai after training, she couldn't help but to feel that she failed. She knew her mother was waiting at home, eager to ask questions about the first day of being a genin. But Mirai wasn't ready to explain her day, what was she suppose to say?

 _'Mom training went horrible, and Shikamaru is disappointed in me'_

That didn't seem like something to tell your mother who was expecting nothing but great news. That's why going home wasn't on her mind.

Mirai walked the streets of Konoha with her head down and hands comfortably placed in her pockets. The sun was going to set soon and Kurenai had strict rules in place that Mirai was to be in the house before the street lights came on. But she already had her mind set on a destination and was going to go there no matter what. She just needed to make a short stop right quick.

The Yamanaka flower shop. A crooked smirk appeared on her face as she stared at the sign out front. The numerous stories that she heard about her dad anonymously buying flowers for her mom always made her laugh.

'Dad must've been a hopeless romantic, but at least his gestures worked. Or mom just really loved him'

A chuckled escaped her lips before she opened the door to the shop. Here an aroma of floral scents just hit her, making her take a deep breath in.

"Mirai...Didn't expect to see you here. How are you doing"

"I'm doing well Ino-neechan, I just came to get some carnations"

"White, I assume" Ino sighed dolefully. She knew that everytime Mirai asked for carnations, they were for her father. Ino tried to keep a smile, but she couldn't. She grabbed a dozen white carnations and wrapped them in a perfect bouquet, before handing them to Mirai.

"How much?" Mirai reached in her pocket to grab some Ryo. But Ino waved her hand, wanting Mirai to put her money back.

"You know it's always free Mirai."

"But I'm a genin now, it's my responsibility to pay you"

"How about this...any day you're free, you come and help me out around the shop. It's been a while since we actually hung out"

"That sounds like a deal." Mirai placed the money back in her pocket, before running out. Waving as she headed out the door.

"See you later Ino-neechan."

"See you later"

Mirai looked at the Sun again wondering if she could make it home in time. She was about twenty minutes from the cemetery and it would take her about forty minutes to make it home, that's even if she took a train.

Quickly, she managed to get on a train and make it to the cemetery. She had been coming here since she was little, so her feet would automatically take her to his grave.

There she seen a lit cigarette and knew that meant Shikamaru had beat her there.

"Hi papa...sorry if it's been a while. I just became a genin. And already I failed." And awkward chuckle left her lips as she sat down, and placed the flowers on his grave. Making sure to put distance between them and the cigarette.

"But I'm pretty sure Shikamaru told you that already. I'm sorry if I let you down...but I promise I will do my best. Kinda wish that you were here to give me your advice...maybe I'll create a reanimation jutsu that'll be effective." Mirai felt tears in her eyes and knew that there was no point in holding them in. She usually didn't cry, but for some reason she felt she needed to. She's been holding everything in, and couldn't continue doing that anymore.

"The sun is setting, and the street lights already on. Mom is going to be upset, and I'll probably be on punishment because I broke curfew. But I needed to talk to you, she'll understand." She stood up, not before gently caressing the 'Sarutobi Asuma' that was imbedded into the tombstone.

"I love you papa"


	4. Mother

The sun had set long ago, and now the moon was shining down brightly. Mirai seen her house in the distance and was dreading every step she took towards it. It wasn't that she hated home, but being out two hours after curfew without informing her mother wasn't exactly comforting. Mirai knew that her mother would yell at her, but what she didn't expect was for that yelling to be tonight.

Mirai tried to slowly open the door, hoping that her mother was asleep. She was cautious with every move: slowly taking off her shoes, tiptoeing to her bedroom, ensuring that the wooden floors didn't squeak. She was sure that her mother didn't hear anything, or at least she thought.

"Mirai...Come here." Kurenai called from out her own bedroom. Her voice wasn't loud or harsh like Mirai had expected, but instead it was calm and for some reason this was scarier than the yelling she had expected.

Taking a deep breath, Mirai opened the door to her mother's room, stepping in. She stood closely by the door as she watched her mother sit on the bed with her legs folded.

"You think I would be asleep without knowing where you are?" Mirai was never one to disobey her mother. In fact, it was rare for Mirai to do anything like this. So Kurenai wasn't angry, she was worried about her daughter.

"No" Mirai whispered, looking down, avoiding the bright red eyes of her mother as they intensely stared at her. Even in this pitch black room, her mother's eyes seemed to perfectly visible.

"So why did you try to sneak in, and why didn't you tell me where you were?"

"Because I needed some time to think...that's all."

"But I was expecting you to come straight home after your first day of training. I wanted to hear all about it. I called Shikamaru to ask where you were and he said you headed home, but I called Ino and she told you went to visit-"

"I didn't have a great first day mom." Mirai finally admitted as tears started to run down her face. Kurenai ran to hug her, allowing her daughters tears to run down her dress. "I disappointed Shikamaru, and I knew that would only disappoint you. So I went to talk to dad, because I felt like he was the only one who I could talk to."

"There's nothing you can do to disappoint me Mirai. Now what happened?"

"We had one simple task and I failed. Only one person passed and"

"And let me guess, you thought he was the weakest out the three of you?"

"Well I wasn't going to say it like that. In class he just never proved he had any skill. That's all."

"You can't underestimate people Mirai." Kurenai took a step back to glance down at her daughter, placing her hands on Mirai's shoulders. "Once, there was this shy girl who I had to train, and because she didn't speak out loud and a gentle, kind nature, everyone believed her to be weak. But many times she proved herself, putting herself in danger to show her strength and determination. To this day I still believe she is one of the strongest shinobi I met."

"Who was she?" Mirai wiped the remaining tears out of her eyes, finally able to keep her composure.

"Now, that would be no fun just telling you the answer. Part of being a shinobi is figuring things out on your own. I'm pretty sure you'll talk to her, and I bet she could tell her story better than I did." Kurenai had a sly smile on her face that kinda creeped Mirai out. All Mirai wanted was the name of the person so she could have a conversation with her. She knew that if she got advice maybe she could understand her teammate more, but maybe her mother was right. I would be best to learn something on her own.

"Momm..." Mirai tried to beg on last time, but her mom quickly interrupted her.

"Time for bed Mirai, You've stayed up long enough already."

"Fine...good night mom." Mirai headed to the bathroom, ready to take a shower and hop in the bed.

"Good night Mirai." Kurenai quickly grabbed her before she could leave the room completely and placed a kiss on her forehead.


End file.
